Kai Craig's Third Single 'Namesake' OUT NOW on all Streaming Platforms

18th July 2025: Kai Craig’s Third Single ‘Namesake’ OUT NOW on all Streaming Platforms

Kai Craig’s third and final single from his debut album ‘A Time Once Forgotten’ OUT NOW on all streaming platforms

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Available in CD / DL / 180 Gram LP

ABOUT THE SINGLE

Anticipation is high leading up to the release of Kai Craig’s debut album ‘ A Time Once Forgotten’. Today marks the release of his third and final single from the album, ‘Namesake’. Composed by Sean Payne, the saxophonist and arranger of this project, Namesake is a fiery, uptempo burner with modal harmony and polyrhythmic melodies. With a burning opening solo by Rainer Böhm over a hard-swinging rhythm section of Kai Craig and Géraud Portal, and a highlight Sax/Drum duo, this track kicks oﬀ the record with a bang.

The album opens with ‘Namesake’, written by the effortlessly virtuosic, young alto saxophonist Sean Payne, who Kai describes as his “closest friend, both musically and personally.” The track balances a complex theme, hard swinging blowing from Rainer and a spontaneous duet between the composer’s sax and the leader’s tumultuous drums.

For Kai Craig, music is a pathway reaching deep into the past and far into the future, spanning generations and international boundaries with ease. The young drummer/composer has already dived deep into the jazz tradition, assisted by the mentorship of Martin France in his native UK and US legend Gregory ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson in Europe and the USA. Now he’s ready to present his debut album, produced by Hutch in a Cologne studio and featuring some of the most extraordinary young talents of his generation. A Time Once Forgotten is both a summary of everything that’s brought Kai to this point, and a

statement of intent for the future. The hand-picked band of Sean Payne and James Copus in the frontline and Rainer Böhm and Géraud Portal in the rhythm section are the perfect interpreters of Craig’s vision. Each musician is a stand-out soloist, but together they are consummate team players. Original compositions take their place side by side with masterworks by Wayne Shorter, Fred Hersch, Kenny Kirkland, John Taylor and Michael Brecker. The album tells a compelling story of both passion for, and commitment to, the rich history of the music, whilst maintaining an open accessibility that reaches out towards the wider listening public.

A Time Once Forgotten is an acknowledgement and a summation of everything that has led Kai Craig to where he is today. It’s steeped in his love of the adventurous, hard-edged swinging tradition of American post-bop that flourished in the 1980s and 1990s, but interpreted through the prism of his own unique personality, and that of his outstanding co-creators. The combination makes for an explosive, unforgettable debut.

Kai says, “Music is the soundtrack to everybody’s life. I wanted to create something that is quintessentially a jazz record, with the accessibility of a record that might come from a more mainstream genre. I hope this music can uplift and provide a heartfelt listening experience for everyone, with each song having a vastly different emotional impact within the overall journey.”

Kai Craig’s ‘A Time Once Forgotten’ out soon on August 8 in CD / DL / 180 gram LP.